Matthew Futterman of the Newark Star-Ledger reports that Jason Kidd is everything to everyone. To teammates, Jason Kidd is the floor general. To fans, he is the franchise's savior. To Nets owners, he is the $26 million man.

That?s how much added revenue it is estimated that the Nets received this season with Kidd leading the way. Kidd, who made $8.44 million this season, can be a free agent after next season. The Nets were likely to offer him the maximum contract of $11.5-$15 million even before he turned around a team that won just 26 games last year and limped home to a $25 million operating loss. Now, however, signing Kidd may be the most important transaction the Nets make since the franchise traded Julius Erving.

Here's how Kidd generated that extra $26 million:

REGULAR-SEASON ATTENDANCE ($14 Million)

The Nets averaged 9,197 fans at home games during the first month of the season. But that number was just 6,284 fans if you knock out two games against Philadelphia and the Knicks, when fans for the visitors traditionally outnumbered Nets faithful in Continental Airlines Arena.
Attendance, of course, started picking up once the team started winning. After 41 regular-season home games, the average climbed to 13,761 and fans were coming out to see even the worst teams in the league. And unlike previous years when the team gave away thousands of tickets each night, the Nets sold almost every ticket this year. As the Nets took off under Kidd, attendance jumped by nearly 6,000 fans. Factor in an average ticket price of $50, plus spending on concessions and parking, and the Kidd factor is worth roughly $14 million.

PLAYOFFS ($11 Million)

The Nets hosted 11 playoff games this spring, an unheard of figure for a franchise that's usually on vacation by May. The NBA takes 45 percent of all playoff ticket revenues. But increases in ticket prices and concession sales during the premium games still left the Nets with an average of about $1 million a night. Without Kidd, most basketball minds say the Nets would have been back in the lottery for a fourth straight year.

SPONSORSHIPS ($1 million)

Success on the court makes it easier for the team to sell itself. Industry experts say the Nets should get a 10 percent -- or almost $750,000 -- in their sponsorship revenues next year.

Futterman adds that NBA franchises are structured to lose money. It's a nice tax write off for owners, who recoup the losses when they decide to sell their teams. Whether Kidd has risen the overall value of the Nets franchise -- estimated at $159 million by Forbes Magazine in February -- won't be known unless the team is put up for sale. But a surprise run to the NBA Finals led by a superstar guard certainly didn't hurt Philadelphia last year. In December 2000, Forbes said the 76ers were worth $233 million. This February, the value jumped 20 percent to $279 million.

A 20 percent increase in the Nets value would add another $30 million to the increased revenues.